Media Committee

The media team has started the process of updating and building on both of our key channels, being the Island Currents and Instagram. For Island Currents, many new articles have been put on the site, ranging from movie reviews to Island School event coverage! Additionally, you can now view the English newsletter and Capital Island on Island Currents. The Media channel has done an excellent job in collating images from different sports events, the Walkathon, and the Winter Fair. There are many reels up and coming, so keep an eye on our Instagram: @is.mediateam

Creative Arts Committee

Look forward to our school production: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on the 3rd, 4th, 5th of February!!

The recent interhouse junk fashion show held during the winter fair was also an immense success, with Fleming coming out on top.

Support our school production @cursedchild.is and stay connected with Creative Arts through @islandcreative_is on instagram!

Culture Committee

The culture team has worked to immerse the student body in holiday spirit through two major week long celebrations. 

Most recently, we did our Lunar New Year celebrations, our school campus was enhanced with festive decorations. We also held daily activities in the courtyard, including making wishes at the wishing tree and trying their luck at the chinese fortune sticks. Additionally, we also planned a PTA and parent dance performance, a Fai Chun calligraphy workshop in collaboration with the creative arts team, and Lai See Lantern making. As usual, we also have our APC special lunch menu. In addition a LNY trivia interhouse for year 7s and 8s, and a lion dance with students being able to dress casually on the last day before LNY break. 

Prior to this, we wrapped out the previous term with our animal Christmas celebrations. Highlighted by our candy cane and keychain delivery service. With the collaboration with Run your own business elements hosting the island marketplace, featuring students running their unique stalls and selling gifts and games. Besides, we also had a Christmas karaoke, and our yearly find the elf staff scavenger hunt, to sum up with a gingerbread decorating session and finally a student dressing festive to wrap it up.

English Committee

Over the last few weeks, the English committee has been keeping itself busy with finalising details for the Orwell essay competition and planning for Book Week! We’d like to thank our members for their lovely contributions and enthusiasm during meetings. In regards to the English newsletter, we’ve released the first two editions so far (the December and January issues). Our monthly Newsletters can be found through past Island School Newsletters, as well as on Island Currents! The February issue of the English newsletter is well underway too, so please keep an eye out in your inboxes for that. We can’t wait for you to see what we have in store for you during our upcoming events!

Social Action Committee

Hi Island School! The Social Action Committee has made waves of impact in the previous two academic terms hosting events such as the whole school walk where funds are directed to fund the Nicola and Kenneth bursary and a toy drive in collaboration with Kids4Kids to aid affected children in Tai Po. Turning our focus on a new term, the Social Action Committee has lined up more initiatives in the works. We are currently planning events such as our annual Pride Week and the Helper’s appreciation day. At the end of the school year we will also be hosting the annual Nicola and Kenneth bursary award ceremony where bursary winners will come to Island School and receive their cash prize for their standout achievement. On behalf of the social action team, we are ecstatic to bring forth these new initiatives and cannot wait for your involvement and participation. 

Connected Communities Committee (Under Social Action Committee)

The Connected Communities Team is pleased to share that our Secret Santa Drive – Mother’s Choice x IS has been a huge success! We have successfully secured 50 gifts for 50 mothers, raising over 18,000 HKD in total.

Through our partnership with Mother’s Choice, we’ve made a meaningful impact this Christmas by providing these young mothers with gifts that will support their children and brighten their holidays.

Here are a few quotes from the mothers:

“Thank you for thinking of us this Christmas. My baby loved the gift, and I loved the sweet surprise too. Your kindness warmed our little family’s hearts.”

“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the wonderful Christmas surprise. It was such a joyful moment opening it, and I felt so cared for. Your generosity truly made this holiday season more meaningful, and I’ll remember this warmth for a long time.”

Finally, we’d like to give a huge thank you to all the donors who contributed to this cause, it would not have been possible without you!

Sports Committee

In the past two weeks, our typhoon sports teams have been extremely busy. The U20 Boys Football Team is getting ready for the prestigious Jing-Ying tournament, which is a major accomplishment and should be very exciting. Additionally, our U16 Boys Football Team recently triumphed over a strong Carmel team in a penalty shootout, as the team secured the ISSFHK championship title. Furthermore, the U20 and U14 Boys Tennis Team are gearing up for their ISSFHK Division I finals and we wish them the best of luck as they compete. And moving onto our basketball teams, our U12 Girls team has reached the ISSFHK finals, along with the U14A Boys, U14B Boys and the U20 Girls teams. Moreover our U16A Boys Basketball team has reached the semi-finals and the U20 Boys team is in the 3rd place playoffs match. These achievements over the past two weeks have been nothing less than outstanding, Go Typhoons!

STEM Committee

The STEM Committee has recently restarted the mentorship programs for the younger year groups, mainly mentoring for MYP science and math, with each program having about 20 mentees each and a 1:1 mentor-mentee ratio, ensuring quality mentoring for each mentee and student. 

We are also in the process of getting ready for our STEM days in semester 2! Year 7, 8, and 9 STEM days are in the planning process, and the STEM committee is researching what can be done for these events. We will need volunteers for this as well, so keep an eye out in your emails, and we look forward to seeing what you can all contribute soon.

In terms of outreach and student engagement, we’ve already promoted several external opportunities, including the HKSSPC Competition and the CityUHK Summer Research Internship 2026. We are also preparing to launch school-wide promotion for the GIZMOS Eastern Asia STEM Competition in the coming weeks. A student interest form and promotional materials are currently being developed. The VEX IQ Robotics Competition is scheduled for later this year, and preparation will begin closer to the event.

Finally, our Instagram account is active and performing well, with regular biweekly posts and features highlighting STEM events and competitions. The publicity subcommittee continues to manage and plan our outreach effectively. We have posted some STEM-related competitions that can be signed up for on our instagram on @stematisland, so be sure to check those out!

Student Advisors Committee

Greetings from your Student Learning Advisors!

Following a series of meetings, we are excited to announce several upcoming initiatives. These include a school-wide anonymous feedback system, peer-to-peer workshops to support lower-year students, and a new Junior Elements Mentorship Programme. We also plan to revamp a recognition system that awards students based on their performance in different subjects, rather than an overall academic excellence award.

Additionally, we will be more active on social media platforms like Instagram, so stay tuned for more updates!

WANBO

Over the past 2 weeks, WANBO has taken many initiatives.

During the IS winter fair we established the recycling bin in front of the staff room, with our prompts many people to contribute to recycling their plastic bottles/cans. From our team, we had 37 people volunteer for the second-hand uniform sale and kitchenware sale.

The School Council presentation took place on 26/1, in which Chelsie represented WANBO and spoke to members of the school council directly. Together with Mr Burrough, they introduced the sustainable initiatives that take place in Island School, detailing the past, current and future work that WANBO has done, while also highlighting our ongoing partnerships with external organisations, such as TASS and Redress.

Our composting sub-committee all learnt how to manage the compost machine and have been regularly managing food waste at the end of most days. (so far we’ve successfully composted around 2 days’ worth of food!!)

Our design sub-committee has officially relaunched WANBO Weekly, which, as the name suggests, are weekly instagram posts created by the WANBO Design team members, promoting sustainability by bringing attention to certain aspects of their interest.

After going through the judging process, we have winners and runner-ups for each category:

Winner for Y7-8: Hannah Cox 8WB

Water life- this photo was taken on middle island Hong Kong which is one of my favourite places to hangout with my friends

Runner ups: Tifflynn Tandijono 8DT & Valerie Chan 8DG

Winner for Y9-10: Alisha Wong 9WC 

“Waterdrops” – The topic of this image is water. I chose water as the theme because water calms us and make us happy.

Runner ups: Cara Cheuk 9WB & Tifara Chung 9WC

Winner for Y12: Xilin Yap 12N 

Neon signs – The classic neon signs of Hong Kong are slowly disappearing, it symbolises the unity of strength of the people of Hong Kong. These signs serve as a staple to remind us not to stray from our Hong Kong roots. Although I am not born in the time when these bright lights were popular, these signs still live on in my identity having lived in Hong Kong all my life.

Runner ups: Nicole Cheung 12E & Jonathan Wong 12D

Teacher’s Choice: Nicole Cheung 12E

Elevate – The photograph captures a powerful visual metaphor as a ladder ascends towards the bright sun. The title “Elevate” captures the idea of the image, symbolizing the pursuit of higher aspirations, personal growth, and reaching for new heights. The ladder represents the journey of self-discovery and the willingness to take steps towards one’s dreams and ambitions. The sun acts as a guiding force, illuminating the path and creating the scene with warmth and energy. The composition inspires viewers to reflect on their own aspirations and embrace the courage to elevate their lives towards greater fulfillment and success.

Reason: Visually appealing and intellectually stimulating. The use of light and shadow creates a striking image. The vibrant colour of the sun against the black background results in a fantastic contrast and the obstruction of the subject generates further interest. I particularly liked Nicole’s explanation of the symbolism in her photograph.

Honourable mentions: Jonathan Wong 12D, Hannah Cox 8WB, Oliver Corlett 9RT 

Thank you to all the students who participated and have a wonderful summer break!

The Media and Creative Arts Team

From 1981 to 2021, the population of the elderly increased from 7% to 20%. This makes elderly people a major part of our society. We asked a group of people if they respect the elderly and gave them 2 scenarios to decide if they would help them or not. According to our data, 76.7% of people said that they would respect the elderly and 23.3% of people said they don’t. They are a big part of Hong Kong and our society so after hearing about the results of this survey, it surprised us how little respect the elderly get.

“There’s much that we don’t know about our older adults, and these results show they aren’t doing as well as people may perceive,” said the study’s lead researcher at UCLA, Riti Shimkhada said: “Although you might think that elderly people have lots of leverage and happiness in Hong Kong, this is not the case”.

Elderly Awareness Restoration is a project that we have been working on for a long time, it is our goal to raise awareness for the elderly in Hong Kong and promote more people to help them out. We believe that the respect for elderly people should be increased, and the elderly deserve equity concerning other people. 

People may become more prone to social isolation as they age, which has been related to poor physical and mental health outcomes. Many seniors have extensive medical needs. Almost 95% of the elderly have at least one chronic condition, with over 80% having two or more. They may also have financial difficulties and hardships in maintaining safe and comfortable housing. Numerous elderly individuals require assistance with everyday tasks or medical care, and family members or caregivers may have difficulties in providing this assistance. Unfortunately, the elderly are also more prone to neglect, physical abuse, and financial exploitation.

According to a 2022 news article, chronic diseases, disabilities, and dementia are on the rise among Hong Kong’s ageing population. The pandemic has further exposed the challenges faced by the elderly, especially those who live alone and have limited access to healthcare and social services.

There are many ways we can support the elderly:

1. Donate to charities that specialise in supporting the elderly: Many organisations in Hong Kong work to support the elderly. By donating to these organisations, you can help ensure that they have access to the resources they need. Charities include Senior Citizen Home Safety Association, ImpactHK and SCHSA.
2. Volunteering at Senior Centres: There are many senior centres and nursing homes throughout Hong Kong that are always looking for volunteers. By spending time with the elderly, you can help brighten their day and provide much-needed social interaction.
3. Support policies that help the elderly: Elderly citizens in Hong Kong often face discrimination and neglect. By advocating for their rights, you can help ensure that they are treated fairly and with respect.
4. Spread awareness about the problems that the elderly face: Raising awareness about the problems that elderly people face can have a significant impact on their quality of life.
5. Acknowledging them in public: Many of the elderly in Hong Kong are depressed because of loneliness and may struggle in public. This little effort can make a massive difference in their day.

The Elderly Awareness Restoration Project aims to raise awareness for the elderly in Hong Kong and promote more respect towards them. By working together, we can help create a more equitable and supportive environment for the elderly in Hong Kong.

Written by Sophie, Jocelyn, Ryan, Marcellus 10N

Bibliography

Wang, C. (2022, March 28). Asian elders are less happy, and get less support than elders of other races, a study shows. NBC News; NBC News. https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-elders-are-less-happy-get-less-support-elders-races-study-shows-rcna21243

Whether they are societal or health-related, late-life challenges can be pretty difficult. (Jeremy Rodriguez, 2022) What are the Problems Faced by the Elderly in Our Society?

Scope – JC JoyAge Research Website. (2021, February 3). JC JoyAge Research Website. https://research.jcjoyage.hk/scope/#

Standard, T. (2017). The elderly need a massive care boost. The Standard. https://www.thestandard.com.hk/section-news/section/4/179247/Elderly-need-massive-care-boost

Wang, C. (2022, March 28). Asian elders are less happy, and get less support than elders of other races, a study shows. Retrieved May 3, 2023, from NBC News website: https://www.nbcnews.com/news/asian-america/asian-elders-are-less-happy-get-less-support-elders-races-study-shows-rcna21243

Yip, P. (2022, March 16). Hongkongers are living longer but not healthier as the ageing population puts an extra burden on health care. South China Morning Post; South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/comment/opinion/article/3170423/hongkongers-are-living-longer-not-healthier-ageing-population-puts

Riordan, P., Ho-him, C., & Lin, A. (2022, March 4). Hong Kong’s elderly vaccine refusal is unmoved by soaring Covid deaths. @FinancialTimes; Financial Times. https://www.ft.com/content/2fc33998-2216-41b6-8b7e-bab843f3f917

Start reading:

• The Mere-Exposure Effect: What is it, and where can it be applied?
• The 16 personalities in Island School
• Why does not a single aquarium in the world house a great white shark?
• Hong Kong’s COVID recovery: strengthening the competitiveness of the city
• Girl in uniform
• The Evolution of Football Tactics
• An analysis of Liverpool 7-0 Manchester United

…and loads more! Browse through our website to find recent articles and other creative submissions.

In addition for our summer issue, we are opening up submissions to the entire school body. So if you would like to submit anything, please fill out the attached form with your ideas for consideration. 

Happy reading!

Please see below the latest Study Smart newsletter containing a student interview on English World Literature and an introduction to the Pomodoro revision technique. We hope this information helps you with your IGCSE revision! 

The Study Smart Team

Read their first edition below!

PREVIEW OF ISLAND CURRENTS: Vice Principal Mr Jobling talks citizenship, diversity, and spirit.

Transcript:

Katrina: Good afternoon, I’m Katrina. Here, I’m with Hannah and today we will have our DIVE interview with our special guest, our vice principal, Mr Jobling. The DIVE Publications is a collaboration between the Island School English Committee and our student news platform, Island Currents.

Hannah: Which serves the purpose as a commemoration for the long-awaited return to Borrett Road through a collective showcase of all stakeholders that have shaped and transcended Island School’s rich legacy. Our theme of today’s interview is ‘Spirit of Diversity: Promoting Citizenship’ within Island School. Mr Jobling, would you like to introduce yourself?

Mr Jobling: Yes. First of all, thank you so much, Hannah and Katrina, for the opportunity to speak with you. I am delighted to have a chance to share my perspective. Obviously, I’m new this year to Island School but I’m very excited, like everybody, to move back to Borrett Road, and to work with the students to make it and the transition as good as it is possible. 

Katrina: Thank you. Great, so now let us start with our first question. As you have mentioned earlier, you are one of the newer teachers in Island School, so what is your first impression of Island School? Like did they make you feel like you’re in a really comfortable environment or anything like that?

Mr Jobling: That’s a great question. Before I even started, I felt very much a part of the community so all the teachers were really great in making me feel welcome and sharing information. And then as soon as I joined, I just found the energy of the students so positive and so happy. I guess my initial reaction was that I was just delighted to be here and get to know so many new people and to be so welcomed by everyone. 

Katrina: Yes, and we are also really glad to have you here with us today. 

Hannah: So that’s great to know. As the Vice Principal of Island School, what do you think is the Island School spirit? Like what’s your definition? 

Mr Jobling: It’s a great question. What I quite liked about this is, I don’t think it is that easy to define. I think it means something slightly different to different people. But there are certainly things that are really central to it. It’s about finding your passion, being positive and making contributions to the community, these would be things I certainly see. And that community being your house, I think that is definitely a part of it, the wider school, and also our community beyond the school. I think, for me, those are the things I see as being really crucial, and just being the best person you could be within that community. 

Katrina: So Let us start off with some more interesting questions. Was it your childhood dream to become an educational leader like you are right now, and what struggles did you have to overcome throughout the journey of becoming a vice principal?

Mr Jobling: So my childhood dream was definitely not to be a teacher. I would have said that is the one job I thought I wouldn’t do. My dream was to be a footballer. I love sports, I played lots of sports when I was young. That was definitely my dream. I kind of realised, when I got older, that wasn’t a realistic dream, but it’s still something I enjoy doing and I still play a little bit now. I think I decided I wanted to be a teacher after university. In university, I nearly went down a different path towards finance which was something I thought I might do. Probably the best decision I made was not to go straight into a job, I did a bit travelling after university. I did a ski season, and I had some time away. And that gave me space to think: what is it that I really enjoy? And for me, I really enjoy being around people, and getting to know people, and helping people. So, that was what drew me to being a teacher. I have not regretted that for a single moment. I had lots of challenges on the way. It’s a tough job, tests to resilience at times but it is a really rewarding job, so I’ve loved it. 

Hannah: That’s a really interesting insight. Since Citizenship is part of the 6 Competencies of the Island School Futures curriculum, we would like to ask what your definition of citizenship is, as both a vice principal and a history teacher?

Mr Jobling: Yes thanks, good question. I think it is recognising your place and your roles and your responsibilities as a citizen. And again, I like to think of it as starting off local, both your school and your community, then global as well. So, I really like the idea of global citizenship, and all of us looking for solutions to global problems. We might start small, start local with our local issues, for instance in school and in Hong Kong. But then being aware of how that fits in the global challenges and recognising how different people from different parts of the world will face those challenges too. As a history teacher, I am even more passionate about it, and we often see in history or we focus on the things that don’t go well, whether that leads to crisis or wars or conflicts. And so, for me I enjoy exploring those and for students to understand what has happened in the past so we can try to avoid those mistakes and not repeat history. 

Katrina: Yea, thank you for that amazing answer. So as you mentioned earlier, we know that one of your passions lies in soccer, history and in fact Mathematics as well, so do you think these are related to the term “citizenship” in any way? 

Mr Jobling: First of all, I think all your passions can relate to citizenship because that is a really good place to start. I don’t think anyone should feel like they have to go and do something. If you start from something that you are passionate about, that could grow. Whether it is football, and that something that can bring a community together, locally or globally, or a particular academic subject, I think everything can relate to ‘citizenship’. In my experience, I think the particular skills you get from History, not only is the knowledge from the past, it is more about the critical thinking skills you develop, so thinking in different perspectives and why things happen helps you in becoming a global citizen. And similar in Maths, I think Maths is really about problem solving, and I think that is what citizenship is about as well. So I think those things definitely connect to it, but I think anything that you’re interested in, you could relate to citizenship in a meaningful way. 

Hannah: Yes I definitely agree that passion can definitely connect largely to citizenship. So as you know hopefully, Island School has a very special learning environment where diversity thrives, in what ways do you think “diversity” is personally connected to you and leadership?  

Mr Jobling: Oh what a great question. I think if I start with the leadership first, I think any effective team or effective group must be diverse. Not just in terms of the type of people who they are and the background of people, but in a way we think. So thinking as a leader, I always surround myself with people who have diverse perspectives, different ways of thinking. It’s really dangerous if we just surround ourselves with the people who think the same as us. We don’t really intend to solve any problems that way. Certainly as a leader, that’s why I think diversity is so important. As a school leader, it is also important to recognise that people have these different perspectives and different views, and try to accommodate those as much as we can, and make sure that everyone feels included within the community. I think that is another huge thing as an educational leader. Just from a more personal note, I guess I have lots of friends and my wife. My wife is from a refugee background. Initially when she was young, she overcame lots of challenges through her education, and moving to work, she is now a really successful lawyer. I have a lot of admiration for people who can overcome those challenges, and certainly it is not to suggest that anyone needs help but I think an appreciation of how it is more challenging for people from different backgrounds is important. Obviously, I’m from the UK, I’m a white male, I have a lot of privilege. I think it is important to acknowledge that, and then really make sure that there is a level of inclusivity for people in all different backgrounds. 

Katrina: I also agree with what you said on how diversity is actually an important aspect, no matter where you are, whether in the workplace, in school etc. Adding on to that previous question, how would you approach the notion of understanding co-workers from different backgrounds? 

Mr Jobling: I think the most important thing is to form a personal relationship and get to know people. It is not just the jobs that someone got to do, but actually prioritising where their experiences (lie), where they are coming from, what are the challenges they have in and outside of work? So I think developing that personal relationship gives you a foundation in which you can get the best out of people, and understand their challenges, and provide support that they need. 

Hannah: As we are getting into our penultimate question. As a school leader, what do you think Island School should and could do in the next couple of years to transform into a fully inclusive and diverse environment which recognizes the identity of each and every one of us?

Mr Jobling: Great question. I think probably the most important thing is to think how our leadership structure can enable that. So moving away from the traditional model of someone at the top and then making the decisions, for it to be a much more distributed leadership, which includes people, all the different stakeholders in the school. So I think this is something we do pretty well at Island School, and it’s definitely something we want to continue to improve, so engage our student leaders, first and foremost. That student voice really does shape the things we do at school, so it is not me or Mr Loggie or anyone else who is making decisions but we’re informed that we support the decisions our student leaders make. And similarly, involving our parents, and I think that is such an important perspective. If we understand our students, we understand our parents, we are at a really good place. And then again, appreciating and giving a voice to our staff, because we have over 100 teachers who come from all different backgrounds, and those views are really important. So we’re trying to do this, and I think it is something we really need to keep an eye on it to make sure that is our approach in making decisions in the school. 

Katrina: Last but not least, we hope to deliver some positive messages to Island School and the wider community during these turbulent times. If there’s one piece of advice that you would like to tell students or just young people in general, what would it be? 

Mr Jobling: It’s a tough one. Something that is stuck with me, when I was about your age, about Year 10, I remember speaking to my Head of House. He said to me, “Mark, the person you will one day be, you are now becoming,” And I still remember him saying, ’cause it was that realisation of the things we do every day are what shapes our character. It is not like all of a sudden that we’re reliable, responsible, trustworthy, hard-working people. That is just built up over time, and that is how your character develops. So I think it’s as much as it is good to have a goal to aim towards and dreams to have, those are crucial. But it is really taking care of your character one day at a time, taking care of individuals, friends, supporting people on an individual basis. And all those things add up to making you the person you will be. 

Hannah: Thank you for your advice. Since our time is up, we would like to thank you, Mr Jobling, for giving us a wonderful insight and your positive messages and for coming today. 

Katrina: We are sure that you have inspired a lot of Island School students to strive to promote citizenship, and be the person they want to be. That brings us to the end of today’s interview. Once again, thank you for coming and we really appreciate it. 

Mr Jobling: Thank you, it’s been a pleasure. 

Hannah: Thank you Mr Jobling. 

The DIVE column, a collaboration with the Island School English Committee, is just one of many features in store for Island Currents this year. Stay tuned for more!

To honour and showcase their achievements, here are some of the teen athletes that made an exceptional impression at the Olympics this year:

1. Eileen Gu (China) 

Eileen Gu is an 18-year-old Chinese-American skier and part-time model. During this Winter Olympics, Gu competed in three events – the Women’s Halfpipe, Women’s Slopestyle, and Women’s Big Air – all three of which she managed to achieve an Olympic Medal in. Moreover, Gu set a world record back prior to the Winter Olympics in November 2021, being the first person ever to land a double cork 1440 in female freeskiing.

2. Alysa Liu (USA) 

Alysa Liu is a 16-year-old figure skater who represented the USA in the Beijing Olympics. As the youngest athlete representing Team USA this year, Liu finished in 7th place at the Ladies Single Figure Skating Finals, scoring a total of 208.95 points. Despite missing out on the medals, Liu continues to honour her achievement, stating that  her goal was to “stay in the moment and enjoy everything.” In addition to the achievements Liu has reaped in her successful athletic career so far, she too has graduated high school at the young age of 15!

3. Su Yiming (China) 

Su Yiming is an 18-year-old Chinese snowboarder. Su competed in two events – Men’s Snowboard Slopestyle and Men’s Snowboard Big Air. He earned a medal in both competitions, and also earned China’s first-ever Olympic Medal in Snowboarding. Besides Snowboarding, Su Yiming is also known for his acting as a young child. After winning two medals for China in men’s snowboarding, Su described these moments as a “dream come true, I think I’m crying like a little kid”.

4. Anezka Indrackova (Czech Republic)

Representing the Czech Republic aged 15, Anezka Indrackova was the youngest athlete competing at the Beijing Olympics. Participating in the Women’s Ski Jumping event, this was Indrackova’s first international event. She placed 30th at the finals.

In stark contrast to the achievements of these teenagers, however, a scandal unfolded in the figure skating arena. Kamila Valieva, a Russian 15-year-old figure skater, had tested positive for the drug trimetazidine, which helps athletes to improve endurance during their performance. Valieva claimed that the result was because of a mix-up with her grandfather’s medication. Numerous medical professionals believe otherwise.

Prior to the scandal, several Russian female skaters had been the centre of attention in the media for their Olympic successes as those who were able to score highly on advanced jumps were mainly young females because of their physical body shape. It is reported that many young Russian females that had won skating competitions suffered long and painful injuries, taking a toll on their long-term health. Thus, this shows how rigorous and dangerous the sport can be for many teenagers. Additionally, with young so many young teenagers competing, many are faced with social and mental pressure from society. This sparked attention towards the adults responsible for the young girls’ training, resulting in many accusing the adults of “evidence of abuse of a minor.” As a result, this led many skating officials to consider whether raising the age limit for Olympic competitions in the future would ensure the safety of these prospecting teenagers.   

Despite this controversial scandal, it is evident that the future looks bright for these teen athletes’ future careers, proving that age is certainly just a number. 

Written by Naomi Pang

The Great Green Wall (GGW) is a Pan-African initiative implemented to restore and sustainably manage land in the Sahel region, or the part of Africa between the Sahara in the north and the savannahs in the south. Described by some as the world’s most ambitious reforestation project, it was conceived in 2007 by the African Union, with initial plans of it being a 7,000 km long and 16 km wide wall of trees that bisected a dozen countries.

In 2010, the Sahel countries formed the Pan-African Agency of the GGW (PA-GGW) to work on implementing the GGW in the official GGW member states. The ultimate aim was to rehabilitate 100 million hectares of presently degraded land, create 10 million jobs in rural regions and capture 250 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, all by 2030. The GGW would improve livelihoods in one of the poorest regions in the world by tackling the interlinked issues of desertification and poverty.

Desertification affects Africa the greatest out of all the continents. It is the process of land becoming desert as soil quality worsens over time. It can be caused by over-cultivation, climate change and deforestation. When trees are cut down, the topsoil is exposed and easily blown away by strong winds, which increases the rate at which rainfall runs off the land instead of soaking into the ground. This soil erosion leads to less suitable land for farming, food scarcity, and expanding deserts. Deforestation has been the main factor behind Africa’s desertification; with about 45% of the continent’s land area affected by this type of land degradation, desertification has even been described as a “spreading cancer” by Abdoulaye Wade, the former president of Senegal.

The effects of desertification include falling crop yields, food scarcity, a loss of income for farmers, and forced migration. Rainfall was already low and droughts were already frequent, but with more infertile land, millions of Africans are predicted to migrate from degraded regions of Africans in the next 20 years. Meanwhile, the population of the Sahel is set to increase from 135 million today, to 340 million by 2050. When all these factors are combined, they will eventually result in widespread poverty. 

Despite the noble aim of ending both desertification and poverty, the efficacy of building walls of trees was immediately questioned once the GGW was announced. Dennis Garrity, a senior research fellow at the World Agroforestry Centre, declared that “this was a stupid way of restoring land in the Sahel”. There was not a lot of scientific evidence suggesting the GGW would work, nor was there enough funding for such a massive project. In addition, large areas of the wall were in unpopulated regions, which meant nobody would be there to take care of the saplings.

Since then, the Great Green Wall has become less about planting a forest but more about focusing on indigenous land use methods, including the restoration of natural vegetation, water conservation and sustainable dryland management. Mohamed Bakarr, the lead environmental specialist for Global Environment Facility, said the concept of the Great Green Wall had become more practical, and that “it is not necessarily a physical wall, but rather a mosaic of land use practices that ultimately will meet the expectations of a wall.” 

By 2020, the Great Green Wall had several impressive achievements. Over 350,000 jobs had been created, the majority of which were in the production and sales of non-timber forest products. The wall had generated 90 million USD and restored 18 million hectares of land. Certain countries had done particularly well, especially Ethiopia, which had ostensibly planted 5.5 billion seedlings on around 943,000 hectares of land. If the GGW reaches its 2030 targets, it is estimated that by then, restored areas will be able to sequester 256 and 57 metric tons of CO₂ through the forests and the soil respectively (carbon sequestration is the capture of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, slowing atmospheric CO2 pollution and global warming).

However, recent announcements decrease the likelihood of the Great Green Wall being completed in just eight years. Only 4 million hectares of degraded land have been restored in the last decade, meaning only 4% of the wall’s target area within the program’s “strict intervention zones” has been completed. Many countries have planted several million trees already, but due to their physical landscapes, level of economic development and/or the governance of their country, they are behind schedule.

One such country is Djibouti, which is located in the Horn of Africa and naturally has a warm, arid climate throughout the year. Daily temperatures are usually between 32 and 41ºC, resulting in only 90 hectares of land having been restored. This is in stark contrast to the 151,448 hectares of land restored in Ethiopia, which has a daily maximum temperature of 25ºC.

Another challenge that countries in the Sahel face is poor governance in terms of environmental policies. There is an absence of widespread political support for environmental policy agenda in less developed countries, as they tend to prioritise economic development over preserving nature. Confusing and unorganised procedures for the initiation of environmental programmes also hinder progress in environmental conservation.

Finally, countries also struggle with the monitoring of such an ambitious scheme. The level of environmental project monitoring and reporting has risen within these past few years, which has overwhelmed many of the poorer countries in the GGW area. According to Salwa Bahbah, a business and research analyst, researchers struggled to investigate the success of the GGW because “there is not a good monitoring and evaluation system in place.” As a result, it remains unclear “where the money goes exactly and how it is used.” Countries report their own progress, but there is speculation that not all of Senegal’s 12 million seedlings, for example, have actually survived.

In order for the GGW to meet its 2030 objective, more than 8 million hectares will have to be restored every year. Though it sounds impossible, several methods have been suggested to speed up this project. Improving the administration of the GGW and ensuring there is high-level political support from every country involved will allow the GGW to move forward. Advocacy and raising awareness globally will also help; a documentary titled “The Great Green Wall” was released in 2019, as part of a successful United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) publicity campaign.

But perhaps the most crucial step that needs to be taken is for the GGW to obtain enough funding so it can continue. Of course, the Covid-19 pandemic will persuade many investors to withdraw their funding for the GGW. The UN deputy secretary-general, Amina Mohammed, requested that investors do exactly the opposite, saying “How we respond today will shape the lives and livelihoods of individuals and communities for generations to come.”

Ibrahim Thiaw, executive secretary of the UNCCD, agreed and proclaimed that “Financing income-generating activities linked to the land, typically the main asset the poorest people have, is perhaps, the most cost-effective way to pursue peace, security, development and good health”.

Though Africa’s Great Green Wall may not be as publicised as Trump’s wall, or as politically significant as the Berlin Wall, in time the GGW will become just as prominent. Walls have historically been built to protect people by keeping them in or out of an area, but the Great Green Wall may very well be the first of many to protect people by primarily protecting the environment.

Article written by Ady Lam